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Archive for February, 2010

Cooking For One – Part 2

Posted in American Cuisine, Latin American Cuisine, Sandwiches, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 27, 2010 | 1 Comment »

This time around I decided to stop being redundant and put up my recipes first. This way on my posts you can look at the more important thing – the pictures :-)

Next up in my cooking for one was a spinach salad. Spinach just happen to be on sale the other day, so I bought two huge tubs of it and it lasted me more than a week. Basically I’ve been super loaded up with iron these days. But I never get tired of it somehow. I love it in a salad, or sandwich or sauteed. And I might just stop using frozen spinach if I can help it. The flavor just isn’t the same. Anywho – you can find the recipe here.

This time I tried something a little different and made my super basic balsamic vinaigrette with white wine vinegar instead. As you can see I’m not super creative when it comes to salad dressings. I stick with my basics because normally when I feel like a salad, it’s a last minute thing and I want it to be simple. I also used some of the leftover chicken I bought on sale (and used in the last post). Because I didn’t want to mess up my Dad’s grill, I decided to just quickly pan “grill” it. I pounded it thin since I find it cooks faster and I like to take little bites. Seasoned it with garlic salt, black pepper and chili flakes. After cooking, I sliced into strips, used some in my salad and saved the rest for another day.

Healthy chicken fajitas

Chris arrived the next day and because I had so much darn chicken I decided we were going to have fajitas! In the spirit of being healthy, I decided I would make my own seasoning since it’s pretty easy to look up online and allowed one less ‘store-bought’ thing in our meal. I didn’t really measure and kind of just threw in an assortment of ingredients I found in various recipes online (the basics really). Find the recipe here.

For veggies, I decided to go a slightly different route since I’ve been reading lots about how bell peppers give you heart burn (aka make you gassy, not exactly romantic). Even though it is a summer squash, I’ve recently read about the benefits of eating zucchini (or known in the UK as courgette). It’s low in calories and a good source of vitamin A.

Healthy, homemade chicken fajitas

I also used mushrooms since (1) Chris and I both love them, (2) they also have great health benefits like being low in calories and a good source of potassium, and (3) we were at Costco and decided to get a huge box of them.

As you can see, we had a corn salsa with our fajitas. I decided to omit the black beans and bell pepper this time to make it a little lighter.

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Cooking For One – Part 1

Posted in Italian Cuisine, Sandwiches, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 18, 2010 | 1 Comment »

This past Tuesday, my parents headed out for a little trip down under and left me in charge of our three little dogs. Of course, I was very excited since this meant I had the kitchen all to myself for 10 days. It was only after they left that I realized I’d be cooking for one. This is quite a challenge, but I was determined to take advantage. I wanted to balance making things I’ve been craving and be healthy at the same time. Also since I’ve been eating loads of Vietnamese food recently, I absolutely had to feed my craving for Italian. Now my real craving for Italian would be Carbonara with homemade pasta at Mario Batali’s Otto Pizzeria at One Fifth or the gnocchi with marinara and roasted garlic cream sauce at Supper in the East Village (both in New York). Sadly, I couldn’t magically transport myself to NY and those dishes aren’t exactly healthy.  

First, I searched the kitchen to see what my parents left behind for me. It is SUCH a difference using a kitchen in a house versus a flat, especially my family’s house. The pantry never ends AND they have two refrigerators!  

Using just items in the kitchen, I was able to whip up a nice salad.  

While it doesn’t sound like the healthiest salad in the world, I was getting lots of dietary fiber and vitamin B with my beets, one of my five-a-day with the apple, and good monounsaturated fat with the avocado. * Note – my salad recipes will start going up in my Recipes section. 

Beet, Apple, Blue Cheese Salad

Next up for breakfast was fruit. As part of Tet, there was loads of fresh fruit around the house. Strangely, I realized I had never cut up a pineapple before. So I had a little fun trying to avoid poking myself. The smell of fresh pineapple is so delightful. We also had a fresh mango which usually makes my throat itch but I absolutely love. Since there was so much pineapple I figured I’d only add a little banana and orange juice then blend away!  

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My Mom – Hostess With The Most-ess

Posted in Vietnamese Cuisine, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 17, 2010 | 1 Comment »

As previously mentioned, this past Sunday was not only Valentine’s Day but also the first day of the Lunar Year. On Saturday evening, my parents, aunt, uncle, grandmother and boyfriend sat down to a traditional Vietnamese New Year dinner. This was my first time being home for Tet since leaving for college some 7+ years ago. So it was a real treat to be with my family and to also teach Chris about our Tet traditions.  

It was rather funny and challenging to actually explain these things to someone. I had to look up a few things, but how do you explain why the Vietnamese (and most Asians really) are so superstitious? They just are? How do you explain that money is an important part of Tet without making Vietnamese people sound superficial?  

My summary of Tet for Chris was mainly that (1) red is important and symbolizes luck, (2) giving money to family [li xi] in red envelopes also symbolizes luck, (3) you have to be happy and nice to others or else you’ll have bad luck all year, (4) oh and you should eat lots because it’ll make you happy and will bring you good luck!  

Not having celebrated Tet for seven years is quite a long time – especially when those years include college, living in seven different cities and five different countries. More than anything, it’s made me think about culture and tradition and what it all means to me. Being a Vietnamese-American or just being a first-generation born in the US (like those of any ethnic background) often makes me feel conflicted. I feel more American than Vietnamese. I lived in Vietnam during the summer of 2006, and I was treated like a foreigner. Yet I have a lot of respect for my family and our traditions, even if I don’t really celebrate them when I’m not home. In the end, I concluded this weekend that having traditions are good for any family. Whether it’s as basic as having Sunday dinner or holding the family’s annual sports challenge (complete with trophy) – it’s a reason for family to be together, eat well and share family stories.  

Now for the name of this post – my mother the hostess. For as long as I can remember, my mom has wowed her guests with her flowers, her table settings and of course her food. She always has each course  timed perfectly and with the help of my aunts – you’ll finish your meal and see that all the dishes have already been washed and the kitchen is spotless. This is something I am constantly working on despite the many small kitchens and apartments I’ve lived in. Nevertheless, I persevere and hope to be able to create dinner parties as beautiful as Mom’s – because, after all, taste is one thing but presentation brings it all together! 

Below are photos from Christmas 2006 and this past weekend for Vietnamese New Year. Enjoy!

Christmas at Home 2006

 

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My First Homemade Pizza

Posted in Italian Cuisine, tagged , , , , , on February 10, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

In celebration of Naples earning the right to label its pizza as “Traditional Specialty Guaranteed” (an EU trademark), I thought I’d give it a shot at making my own. Coincidentally, I’ve also started reading Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. In the last section I read she went to Naples and gave a delicious description of eating pizza there, and it made my mouth water. Now I set out with the best intentions – thinking oh I’ll make a healthy pizza! I even bought whole wheat pizza dough from Fresh & Easy!

But let’s face it – pizza is not the same without cheese. And cheese isn’t exactly the healthiest thing to eat (if you love it as much as I do). And if you’re gonna make a pizza, I feel like you’re really cheating yourself if you go for fat-free which doesn’t have much flavor. So I splurged on the cheese and went healthy on the dough :-)

My brother’s instructions (he’s a chef) for preparing the dough was to first knead the dough on a surface dusted with flour. And because I wanted thin crust, he said to pick it up by my finger tips and hold the dough by the edge and kind of rotate it while thinning the edges. Somehow I completely forgot this advice and just went straight for kneading the middle with my knuckles. But I was having too much fun to worry about not eating thin crust – so I just went with it! My main concern was that it would fit perfectly in the round pizza dish I was using.

Anywho – my main objective here is to share my yummy pictures with all of you and hope it’ll inspire some of you to go out and make some pizza for yourself!

Ingredients

  • Pizza dough from Fresh & Easy (not sure what other groceries sell it these days)

** You could always be brave and make your own! I found an Alton Brown recipe

  • Pizza sauce

** I was feeling a bit lazy and didn’t have a lot of time to put into my pizza sadly, so I cheated and just bought it at Fresh & Easy since it was right next to the dough. But you could easily make a simple marinara, add oregano, let cool and blend.

  • Mozzarella cheese of course!

** I added some ‘Habanero cheese’ that was on sale at the store the other day, so added it in for a little kick!

  • Mushrooms
  • Black olives
  • Sweet onions

** At the last minute I decided to caramelize these a little with balsamic vinegar.

  • Sausage meat

** Any sausage will do really or any meat you’d like. I browned it in a pan with a little bit of chili flakes before putting it on the pizza.

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Healthy Superbowl Snacks

Posted in Italian Cuisine, Latin American Cuisine, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on February 8, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

While I’m not a crazy football fan, as a foodie the superbowl is always a great excuse to pig out. However, in the past few months I’ve been trying to eat a healthier diet while allowing myself to still splurge a little. So last minute eats on the big game day included:

Don’t get me wrong – I was dying for some buffalo wings and potato skins! However, our snacks were equally satisfying. Click on the links above for the recipes. Unfortunately I haven’t asked Bac Oanh for her recipe of Cuban pork, but the other recipes are very simple and just something I threw together. You can eat the salsa with fajitas, tacos or burritos or even on top of some grilled chicken. My recipe doesn’t include avocado, but if you have some around throw it in! The orzo can be made with many variations. It can also be made with whole wheat penne too. Maybe add some spinach in as well. A good trick for using spinach (frozen or fresh) with pasta is to put it in the bottom of your colander and drain your cooked pasta over it. This way your spinach is defrosted or wilted and you can mix it all together easily. Add some toasted pine nuts for crunch!

Hope all of you who splurged on barbeque and creamy dips had some for me!

Ingredients for the salsa

Corn and black bean salsa - usually made with cherry tomatoes but didnt have any that day

Orzo with feta, olives, sundried tomatoes, zucchini, yellow bell pepper and spicy smoked sausage with jalapenos!

My aunt's Cuban-style pork!

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The Year Of The Tiger And My Dad The Cook

Posted in Vietnamese Cuisine, tagged , , , , , on February 6, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Chuc Mung Nam Moi!  Gung Hei Fat Choy!  Happy New Year! 

On February 14th this year, many people will be celebrating Valentine’s Day. But if you are of Chinese, Vietnamese, Mongolian or Korean decent, you will be celebrating the first day of the lunar new year. For the Vietnamese, this will be the Year of the Tiger or otherwise known as Tet. According to OnlineChineseAstrology.com, it is the Year of the Metal Tiger for the Chinese. 

“The Norwegian story goes that, once a group of [white tigers] starts moving across the fields, they will charge ahead and unthinkingly run straight off a cliff to their doom… The point is now is the time to attack the most difficult issues you face. -OnlineChineseAstrology.com”
 

I think that that most difficult issue for the women in my family at the moment is that my Dad is kicking their butt in cooking. No offense Mom, Bac Oanh, Tata and Ba – but you know it’s true. I’ve heard you all moan over Dad’s Banh Chung! (pronounced bye-ing choong) For those of you who have not had the good fortune of eating this, it is a Vietnamese rice cake filled with sticky rice, mung beans and fatty pork seasoned with black pepper and (of course) fish sauce. This rice cake is normally bought at Vietnamese grocery stores but almost never served at a restaurant. It is one of the traditional dishes eaten for the Vietnamese New Year. The legend states that King Hung Vuong held a competition to determine his successor and his young prince Lang Lieu created the dish Banh Chung and won the throne. From then on, it was decided that Banh Chung would become one of the traditional foods of Tet. Now enough of the history lesson and back to the food.
 

Banh Chung - Vietnamese Rice Cake

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An Ode to THE Cuban Bakery

Posted in Latin American Cuisine, tagged , , , , , , , , , on February 4, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Between 2007 and 2008, I worked in the Burbank area for that ‘well-paying’ finance job I’ve mentioned. One of the benefits of working in the team there was that long hours meant ordering food. And over the years, these guys had built up a list of great restaurants in the area. One of the best places that I was introduced to was Porto’s Bakery (http://www.portosbakery.com/).

Porto’s is one of those places that you go to once and the next time you’ll fly across the country just to go again. It’s a Cuban bakery that started out small and was forced to grow into larger facilities. When you walk into this place, the line is often to the door. But it moves fast because most people know what they want when they come in. The smell is just heavenly as you get a wiff of the freshly baked bread and pastries or the empanadas and croquettes.

Below are a few pictures for your enjoyment. And may I suggest that you make the trek up to Burbank the next time you’re in the LA area because you will not be disappointed. In fact, schedule your flight so you leave from Burbank airport!

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A view of the beautiful sweet treats that tease you as you wait in line. Thank goodness I do not have a sweet tooth (at least not a bad one), although I’m not sure that eating three croquettes is better than having a couple cupcakes!

 

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Proof That I Can Eat Healthy Too

Posted in Vietnamese Cuisine, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 3, 2010 | 1 Comment »

Little Saigon, Orange County, California

This past weekend, I took a quick weekend trip to the LA area with my parents to visit my sister. Of course, if we’re going to drive all the way from Phoenix, it’s expected that we’ll go out of the way to stop over in Little Saigon (also known as Westminster or Garden Grove in Orange County, CA). My siblings and I usually moan about this since it adds another two hours to the drive, but we’re never disappointed once we’re up to our elbows in Pho.

The first thing we had when we arrived in Little Saigon was Banh Cuon (Banh Cuon Tay Ho, 9242 Bolsa Ave, Westminster, CA). This is one of my all time favorite Vietnamese dishes to eat both at home and out at a restaurant. If you’ve ever had Chinese Dim Sum, it’s very similar. Basically, banh cuon is a rice crepe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A1nh_cu%E1%BB%91n). It’s pronounced by-ing coon? (there are accents that cause inflection similar to a question). Please remember I don’t speak Vietnamese, so this is my best attempt at trying to spell this out phonetically!

Banh Cuon

It can be served plain or rolled with a filling which may include ground pork, minced wood-ear mushrooms, onions and garlic. It’s normally served with a combination of bean sprouts, cucumber, cilantro, fried onions, and a Vietnamese pork sausage (which might be fried or steamed). The dipping sauce is a Vietnamese favorite, nuoc cham, which is sweet, sour, salty and spicy. The version shown here is also served with sweet potato tempura. Now some might be afraid of the sausage or maybe the description of the dipping sauce (which I have to confess is made with the well-known Vietnamese fish sauce, not much different from Thai fish sauce). However, if you’ve never had this, trust me you will love it. And you can ease your way into it by maybe taking out the sausage and only using a little bit of the sauce. Unfortunately, this dish isn’t something you’ll find at the main stream Vietnamese restaurants or any of those fusion places (at least in my experience). 

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101 Chowdown Countdown

Posted in Food Shows, tagged , , , , , on February 3, 2010 | 1 Comment »

5-way chili

If you haven’t discovered this, then I highly recommend it. Tune in to watch the Travel Channel’s 101 Chowdown Countdown. They even used a new word “hungrify” as a warning of the incredible food they’re showing you. 

http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Chowdown_Countdown

This show is amazing, but I suggest watching it after you’ve even otherwise it will make you very very hungry. They show a great mixture of cuisines plus a balance between sweet and savory. Some of the food is a little over the top – like a pizza that weighs 30 lbs. or a burger on a donut instead of a bun (don’t forget the cheese and bacon to go with it).

Chinese egg roll, quesadilla, Cuban beans, and more..

The other great thing about it is that you’ll learn about places you’ve never heard of right in your backyard. I’ll be visiting the ‘Chino Bandido’ in Phoenix, AZ some time soon (http://www.chinobandido.com/). The owners are a mixed couple (Chinese and American) who grew up in Phoenix and have blended their at-home Chinese cuisine with the Mexican flavors that are inherent in Arizona. Very interesting.

Another place I have heard so much about but never got the chance to eat at is Sylvia’s in Harlem, NY (http://www.sylviassoulfood.com/). I heard Sundays are packed with all the folks coming in from church, so maybe go on a Sunday.

  They’ve been repeating a lot of the episodes, so I hope you get a chance to watch it! And even better get a chance to eat at some of these fantastic places.

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